It is the holy grail of the anti-Islam lobby: the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO) by the U.S. government. The move could mean open season on American Muslims, cripple U.S. policy in the Muslim world and have implications for American domestic politics. Officials in President Donald Trump’s administration are […]

A memo to the president-election about the people he fears. “Islam hates us.” That was a recurring theme of your campaign, Mr. President-elect. And who can blame you? After all, your top advisors on Muslim affairs — Ann Coulter, Frank Gaffney, and Walid Phares — are card-carrying Islamophobes. Your incoming national security advisor, retired Army […]

An imperiled minority fears that latent demons of intolerance and violence have been released into the wild. By Lawrence Pintak. American Muslims and Arab-Americans woke up Wednesday morning with shock, fear, and a determination to tackle head-on the bigotry that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House. “The U.S. we knew yesterday is no […]

(Oct. 27, 2016) Donald Trump and ISIS. It was the Perfect Storm. The damage has left a barrage of emotions reverberating through the American Muslim community, from fear and suspicion to anger and defiance. Come November 9th, unless lightning strikes, Donald Trump will be, to use one of his favourite expressions, a loser. And the nation […]

EVERETT, Washington — Maybe it was jet lag. But the scene seemed a bit surreal: the African-American hawker selling “Donald ‘Fucking’ Trump” buttons, the young Hispanic guy with the “Build a Wall” T-shirt, the grinning fellow of Chinese descent strategically placed behind the podium. I had stepped off a flight from the United Arab Emirates […]

LAHORE, Pakistan — “How do we prevent the 5-year-old in Pakistan from becoming a radical?” U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan asked in an April interview. Imran Azhar has a ready answer: “You make him a hero. And you redefine what it is to be a hero.” Azhar is part of a small group of Pakistani […]

(July 19, 2016) The challenge Tweeted by Donald Trump’s military advisor, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, after the horrific Nice massacre was clear and direct. “In next 24 hours, I dare Arab & Persian world ‘leaders’ to step up to the plate and declare their Islamic ideology sick and must B healed.” The same day, Newt […]

PORTLAND, Oregon (April 8, 2016) — Guilt by association. It’s the centerpiece of both Donald Trump’s and Ted Cruz’s policies toward Islam. And it’s something Muslims in this bastion of Pacific Northwest liberalism know a lot about. They have been struggling against innuendo, stereotyping, and mistrust since 9/11.

“We have people living in our country that want to do great harm to our country,” Trump told CBS News after the Brussels attacks. Asked whether Americans should profile their neighbors, he replied, “Everybody should watch out.”

KARACHI, Pakistan (Feb. 4, 2016)— In the strongholds of hard-line Pakistani Islamist thought, they are talking about Donald Trump and laughing. Then they shake their heads with concern. “He doesn’t belong in the White House, he belongs in a mental hospital,” 46-year-old Hafez Tahrir Ashrafi, a Muslim cleric who is head of the country’s Ulema […]